


parenthood

by orphan_account



Category: Arashi (Band), Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Children, M/M, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-20
Updated: 2009-07-20
Packaged: 2017-10-23 20:21:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/254569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><s>On a dark and stormy night,</s> Nino and (reluctantly) Jun find themselves as parents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	parenthood

Matsumoto Jun made his frustration loudly known when the doorbell rang. "What the hell? It's two in the morning!"

Reluctantly, Nino stretched his arms over his head and reached for his boxers lying crumpled beside the bed. "No," Jun whined, dragging him back, "they'll go away if we ignore it." He silenced Nino's protests with a kiss.

The smaller boy did not give him a chance to do much more than that. He stuck out his tongue playfully and spitefully as he jumped out of bed and walked toward the door. Upon opening it, he nearly jumped back at the noise coming from the special package left at his door step. Nino blinked a few times before moving back slowly. "Jun!" he cried.

Jun appeared behind him, covered only by the blanket he had dragged off the bed. He peered closely to be met with two large eyes bulging out of a mass of blankets. "What the hell is that?" he muttered in slight disgust.

Nino cocked his head to the left. "I think it's a baby," he whispered, awestruck. He glanced up and down the hallway before bringing the basket into the apartment.

Jun threw his hands up, collapsing onto the couch. He grabbed the remote control and started flipping through channels. "You have got to be kidding me. This stuff only happens in movies. And will you please make that thing shut up?"

Nino gasped as if he himself were offended. "It's not _'thing'_. It's a," he peeked underneath the baby's blanket, " _she_." He turned his attention to Jun. "What are you doing?"

"What the hell does it look like I'm doing? I'm looking for fucking Barney."

"What's a Barney?"

"You know...that gay purple dinosaur." Nino showed no sign of recognition, instead staring at Jun as if he were insane. Jun rolled his eyes. "Oh, whatever. Your mind must have been poisoned by video games even then. What did you have, a Gameboy?"

Nino was too preoccupied with playing with the baby to answer. He'd finally gotten her to calm down after playing peek-a-boo.

Jun sighed and turned off the TV. He'd planned to do many sinful things to Nino tonight but all that had been ruined. After fashioning a makeshift toga out of his blanket, he trudged to the kitchen where Nino played with the baby. Jun couldn't resist peeking over his shoulder.

"It's not even cute," he grumbled, secretly wondering why Nino was paying so much attention to it and not sparing him a measly glance.

"Hey, there's a note," Jun said, noting a sheet of paper attached to the baby's basket. He unfolded it and read it aloud:

" _'To whom this may concern,_

 _It pains me deeply to have to abandon my child but I am finding that it is impossible to provide for her any longer. By doing this, I hope I am not imposing, however, I am not against the decision to drop her off at an orphanage, if need be. I am so full of shame that I simply cannot bear to do it myself._

 _I really do hope my child finds a good home, so that she is able to fulfill her dreams in the future, whatever they may be._

 _P.S. Her name is Rumiko. She is 10 months old.'_

"Hey, Nino, we can send the thing to an orphanage..."

Jun's voice was drowned out by Nino's uncontrollable sobs. "Why is the world so cruel? What ever happened to government subsidies?!" He cradled the infant even closer to his chest. "Don't worry, baby," he cooed, "I'll take good care of you forever."

Forever. The word had an unpleasant ring in Jun's ears. Groaning, he buried his face in his hands. _Please,_ he thought, _not that._

\--

Nino angrily pulled the vacuum cleaner's cord from the outlet and threw down his feather duster. He cleared his throat and stood in front of Jun with one hand placed on his hip. "Babe," Jun said, sipping his beer, "you're blocking the TV. Project Runway is on."

"TiVo it!" he shrieked, stomping back toward the vacuum. The sight of Nino is a frilly pink apron and yellow gloves would have been funny had he not been screaming at Jun over all the noise. Only a week had passed after receiving a baby on their doorstep and, already, it had killed their sex life, which was pretty much all of what their relationship consisted of.

"Why is it that I am always the one working my ass of while you sit around all day doing nothing? You may not have noticed but the baby is crying and it would so great if you could tend to her."

Jun switched off the television. He missed sex. Where was Aiba when he needed him?

"Also check on the stove while you're at it," Nino called out to him.

Jun decided he needed something stronger than beer from then on.

\--

Ever since the new addition to the household, Jun had taken to going to sleep earlier to ensure the proper amount of beauty sleep. Two months ago, he'd be partying at 1AM but recent circumstances kept him exhausted.

Nino whacked him lazily with the back of his arm as soon as he heard the wailing. "It's your turn to feed her."

Without even opening his eyes, he slipped his feet into his slippers, pulled on his robe and shuffled into the nursery in the corner of the living room.

Jun ignored the Rumiko's increased wails and set off carrying her to the kitchen. A loud gasp and shriek (one that had become only more and more frequent) made his eyes shoot open. He looked around, clueless and still partly asleep. "What? Where's the fire?"

Nino snatched the infant from Jun's arms. "Why are you holding her upside down?! Are you trying to kill Miko? All the blood is going to rush to her head!" He rocked her in his arms until her cries were reduced to soft whimpers. Jun was still clueless.

"Warm up her milk," Nino said, nodding toward the fridge. Jun grabbed the bottle of baby formula and did as he instructed. "Really, what kind of mother are you?"

Jun scowled at his reflection in the microwave. "Since when am I the mother?" he said.

"You were the one she saw first."

"Stupid, that's ducks, not humans."

Nino snorted. "You would know."

They were both silent until the microwave beeped.

"I'm trying, you know." Jun took Rumiko from Nino and started feeding her.

Nino leaned his head on Jun's shoulder. He closed his eyes and massaged the bags beneath his eyes. "I know. I'm sorry if I'm constantly on your back and pressuring you. I'm just tired."

Jun nodded absentmindedly. "So am I."

Soon after Rumiko finished her milk, she began to cry again. Jun transferred her to his shoulder and began gently patting her back.

Nino watched him closely as he handled the baby with almost as much care as he did. He had rough patches, of course, but Nino never gave Jun credit for being so good with Rumiko. The sight made him want to cry.

He followed Jun back to the crib, still watching as he tucked Rumiko back into bed. Softly, Nino said, "I love you," hugging Jun around the waist.

Jun snorted. "Who? Me or the kid?"

Nino didn't answer. Instead, he kissed him softly on the lips. Jun smiled and pressed his own lips to the shorter boy's forehead, then did the same to Rumiko. They stood around and smiled at each other. They were a family.

"We're going to get through this."

And with those six words, things seemed to be looking up already.


End file.
